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Metropolitan photo by N Knight 7138

How Do We Realize the Potential of the Arts to Support Health and Wellbeing in the United States?

Key learnings from the Arts and Health Caucus held in advance of Healing, Bridging, Thriving: A Summit on Arts and Culture in our Communities, co-hosted by the White House Domestic Policy Council and the National Endowment for the Arts

Partners

Introduction

On January 29th, a Pre-Summit Caucus convened national leaders in the field of arts and health at the National Endowment for the Arts Headquarters in Washington, D.C. to envision tangible steps to value the arts as a part of how we understand health in the United States.

This Caucus was held in advance of Healing, Bridging, Thriving: A Summit on Arts and Culture in our Communities, co-hosted by the White House Domestic Policy Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The session was designed and led by Drs. Nisha Sajnani, Associate Professor of Drama Therapy at NYU Steinhardt, Chair of the NYU Creative Arts Therapies Consortium, and Founding Co-Director of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab; Jill Sonke, Director of Research Initiatives at the Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida and Director of National Research and Impact, One Nation/One Project; and Lisa Wong, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Co-Director of the Arts and Humanities Initiative at Harvard Medical School, with technical support from Sunil Iyengar, Research Director for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Participants were from federal agencies, national membership-based professional organizations, academic research institutions, and the private sector.

Key Points

The report summarizes salient themes and insights that arose during the Pre-Summit Caucus. Under the categories Policy, Communications, and Research, the following key themes were identified:

  • Integrate the Arts within Current Policy: Participants discussed how to adapt arts and health programming to work within existing policy structures and frameworks.
  • Policy Change: Participants shared the need to integrate the evidence for the health value of arts engagement at the outset of policy development at the city, state, and federal level. 
  • Increase Public Understanding of the Arts as a Health Resource: Participants identified the need for a national shift in public perception of the arts as a luxury to a recognition of the holistic health benefits of arts and cultural activities. 
  • Leverage New and Existing Evidence to Further the Field: Participants emphasized the need for strategies that increase the capacity for researchers, practitioners, and community partners to collect data about the processes and outcomes of arts and health interventions.

The views are solely the authors’ and do not represent the views of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Image: NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, Artwork Priscila De Carvalho. Photo by N. Knight, courtesy of NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine department.

Pathways Forward

  • Adopt an "arts in all policies" approach
  • Build infrastructure for research
  • Expand licensure for Creative Arts Therapists and training for artists
  • Integrate the arts in public health strategies to address social isolation and other health priorities
  • Increase pathways for inter-sectoral collaboration at the federal level
  • Increase pathways for inter-sectoral collaboration at the state and municipal level
  • Launch a national communications campaign
  • Establish ongoing opportunities to convene

Insights

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  • Admiral Rachel L Levine

“[This] is a time where I do think revitalizing the arts is essential for not only fostering social connection, but for bringing hope...”


Lab Co-hosts Caucus before White House Summit

Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy

U.S. Surgeon General

The Healing, Bridging, and Thriving Summit. January 30, 2024

“What if we thought of health and healing more holistically? What if we better enabled and compensated artists, culture bearers, and cultural organizations for contributing to health and healing at a national scale?”

Maria Rosario Jackson

Chair, National Endowment for the Arts

The Healing, Bridging, and Thriving Summit. January 30, 2024

“The public is excited about health and wellbeing in general and would welcome arts interventions that are noninvasive, non-pharmaceutical, and low cost.

Renée Fleming

Kennedy Center Artistic Advisor & World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health

The Healing, Bridging, and Thriving Summit. January 30, 2024.

“We have known for some time that the arts can be an effective tool to promote health. But are the arts and creativity actually an intrinsic part of our wellbeing? An increasing body of evidence suggests that participating in the arts and creative practice may help us cope, improve our abilities, and help form bonds of community and help form bonds of community doing much of this work in their daily activities.”

Christopher Bailey

Arts & Health Lead: World Health Organization

Founding Co-Director: Jameel Arts & Health Lab

“Among top HHS priorities are reducing health costs, tackling health disparities, emphasizing health equity and strengthening behavioral health. For each of these priorities, there is a definitive role for artists and cultural institutions who are already doing much of this work in their daily activities”

Admiral Rachel L. Levine

Assistant Secretary for Health

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services9

The Healing, Bridging, and Thriving Summit. January 30, 2024.

The Lab's Arts & Health activities in the United States

Find more Outreach Events Here
  • CT TPD 001

    Artist Project

    The Painted Desert Project / Pandemic as Portal

    Chip Thomas’ public art campaign addressed the healthcare emergency among Arizona’s Navajo Nation, which occupies portions of Northeastern Arizona, Southeastern Utah and Northwestern New Mexico.

    Location

    Navajo County

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    Artist Project

    The Gray-Green Divide

    Artist and data journalist Mona Chalabi illustrated New York's most common trees on the front steps of Brooklyn Museum to appreciate their importance to wellbeing outcomes and climate protection.

    Location

    New York City

  • M C7355

    Event

    Healing Arts New York

    A multi-venue, city-wide activation during a historic UN General Assembly. The Met, NYU, Museo Del Barrio, and MoMA were all invited to imagine a post-pandemic world prioritizing health, art, and sustainability.

    Date

    19 September – 14 November 2021

    Location

    New York City

  • EH 0292

    Event

    Healing Arts Houston

    In tandem with a major conference at the University of Houston, this initiative looked at the integration of the arts in medical care and education, engaging a cross-sectional representation of the host city’s arts and health community.

    Date

    20 January – 9 October 2022

    Location

    Houston

  • PALMHEADER

    Event

    Healing Arts Palm Beach

    A two-day event at The Society of the Four Arts, Florida, highlighting the scale of the global mental health crisis, and advances in neurobiological research that show how art can positively impact depression and anxiety.

    Date

    6 January – 8 February 2022

    Location

    Palm Beach

  • 1 JAHL SIGNING UN CITY COPENHAGEN

    Event

    JAHL Global Launch

    The Lab’s global launch was held at the National Arts Club in New York, inaugurating its goal to coordinate and amplify scientific research, and drive policy into the effectiveness of the arts in improving health and wellbeing.

    Date

    27 February 2023

    Location

    New York

  • DSC00263

    Event

    LA County Arts & Health Week Summit

    Under the auspices of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, this summit brought together a range of medical experts, arts practitioners, administrators, policy-makers, and researchers at LA Opera.

    Date

    9 June 2023

    Location

    Los Angeles

  • CH11413429

    Event

    UNGA Healing Arts Week 2023

    On the sidelines of the 78th UN General Assembly, the Lab held public and private events in collaboration with academic, cultural, and health institutions across New York.

    Date

    18 September – 21 October 2023

    Location

    New York City

  • Newport Art Museum John N A Griswold House

    Event

    Newport Global Summit 2023

    Lab Founding Co-Directors Stephen Stapleton and Dr Nisha Sajnani addressed the Newport Global Summit on the role of museums on health and wellbeing.

    Date

    21 – 22 August 2023

    Location

    Newport

  • 23

    Event

    Healing Arts Atlanta

    Healing Arts Atlanta launched with a focus on Championing the Role of the Arts in addressing Racism as a Public Health Crisis. The event precedes a major convening of researchers, artists, community leaders and policy makers to discuss how the arts can heal the wounds of racial trauma.

    Date

    7 – 10 October 2024

    Location

    Atlanta